Portret van een man met ringbaard 1871 - 1891

Editor: Here we have a mounted photograph, “Portret van een man met ringbaard” – "Portrait of a Man with a Ring Beard"– attributed to Gerrit Dirk Siewers, and likely taken sometime between 1871 and 1891. It's a very straightforward, serious-looking portrait. It has that familiar, old-timey photography feel. What stands out to you about it? Curator: Well, besides the impeccable ring beard, which I find rather dashing, I’m drawn to the sitter's expression. It's a gaze both direct and somehow…resigned? Almost melancholy, don't you think? Consider what it meant to sit for a portrait back then. No selfies! This was a deliberate act, a sort of marking of one's existence. What kind of man do you imagine he was? Editor: Hmm, resigned, perhaps. I was focused on the seriousness. He definitely looks like a man of his time – proper, maybe even a bit stiff. I suppose having your photo taken was a big deal, much more formal. Curator: Exactly. This isn't some candid snap. Think of the time it took, the posing, the solemnity of it all! It lends a weight, doesn't it? Though I find that the Realist style, evident here, captures a tangible honesty. Siewers wasn't trying to flatter. He aimed to record. Makes you wonder about the untold stories behind that ring beard. Editor: It does make you wonder. I hadn't thought about the realism aspect so much, more just the time period. So, it is more than just an old photograph. There is an aim to catch an honest impression, perhaps. Curator: Precisely. The realism adds another layer. He is not romanticized; he is there, as he was, fixed in time. Makes me consider how differently we present ourselves to cameras today, always crafting a version of ourselves, maybe less honest, or…real? What do you make of that? Editor: I never really looked at old portraits with that consideration of "realism." Maybe old photos aren't that different from modern portraiture today; perhaps we are always performing for the camera. It does invite reflection about self-representation. Thank you, I can't unsee ring beards in portraits now. Curator: Ha! My pleasure. That beard will never let you down. These photographs always leave us with more questions than answers. Art that encourages you to ponder is usually pretty great.